It was wonderful to see so many of you visit us at our Grade 6 and 7 Science Fair on Friday. I was very proud to see students present the results of their hard work from this year. At ISS, we place a high value on "process" as well as "product." Especially in science, it's important for students to recognize that trial and error is an essential part of the learning process. A successful science experience sometimes does not end with the "correct answer," but instead inspires students' sense of creativity and perseverance enabling them to reflect, learn from their experiences, and try again. We hope you enjoyed visiting with our students and learning more about their creative process.

​Reflecting on Week Without Walls

Each year I ask parents, students and teachers to give their feedback about our Week Without Walls trips. It's important for us to listen and engage in conversation with our stakeholders so we can continue to offer excellent experiences for our students each year. Please click on the following link to add your name to the virtual conversation.

Please don't miss our Talent Show coming up on March 9th and 10th in the Middle School Hall. Tickets can be purchased from performers or on the night of the event at the door. Please contact Mr. Lebon if you have any questions at: balenlebon@iss.edu.sg

Our Middle School Students are back in Singapore, safe and sound after a wonderful week of team building and learning in an environment "without walls." Our students will remember last week, and how they felt while they were away, for a lifetime. Through building friendships, establishing trust with others, and challenging themselves to try new things, each child has grown in their own way. I am proud of the way our students handled themselves while they ventured off overseas. They showed maturity beyond their years and good cheer throughout the experience. A special thanks goes out to our talented teaching staff who were available for students and on call during the entire trip. Without the commitment of our teachers, these trips would not be possible.

In the coming days, I'll be asking students, teachers and parents to reflect on our Week Without Walls and gathering feedback to help us continue to improve the experience for students.

Photos from Week Without Walls

Literally hundreds of photos were taken during our trips. Please check back frequently to our Week Without Walls Blog (now with a direct link to the right) to check out photos of your child's trip. More will be uploaded in the coming days.

Upcoming Events:

We have a busy few weeks coming up leading into our holiday at the end of March. Planning for our Middle School Talent Show, Sports Day and the Fun Fair will on our agendas in the coming days. Please look for more details as plans take shape.

We have heard news from each trip coordinator that our students arrived safely in each of our Week Without Walls locations and have settled in nicely. Please make sure you check our Week Without Walls blog to keep up to date with goings on in each location. As I wrote in an earlier post, messages coming from each site will be purposely intermittent to allow students to be "unplugged" during this experience.

Our students and teachers have had a wonderful time actively learning together on our Week Without Walls trips both overseas and locally this week. I hope each of you has had a chance to catch up with news from each trip on our Week Without Walls blog. ​http://msweekwithoutwalls2015-16.weebly.com/

​I am writing to remind you that your children will be returning home soon! They will need to be collected by their parents/ guardians from the airport/ ferry terminal unless you have already made an arrangement with trip leaders for them to travel home on their own.

Below, please find the most up to date details for arrival places and times:

Grade 6 -Telunas- will arrive back to Singapore from Batam at the Harbourfront Ferry Terminal at 2:15pm (Friday)

**I will update this blog if there are any changes to these arrival times.**

Both students and teachers will be tired after their weeklong adventure so please plan to arrive to the airport/terminal early to pick your children up. They will have many stories to tell about their trip!

It's finally time for our students to go off on Week Without Walls trips to Chiang Mai, Bali, Telunas, and Phnom Penh. This year we will also, once again support a local trip for students who are unable to go overseas. There has been palpable excitement throughout the middle school among students and teachers alike as we check our packing lists and trip details one last time.

During the coming week, Ms. Christy (MS Secretary), Mr. Taylor (MS Assistant Principal) and I will be available in case you have any questions about the trips. In general, we have only intermittent communication with trip leaders over the course of the week. This is a purposeful move on our part to give students and teachers alike an "unconnected" team building experience.

In the coming days, I'll use this blog to keep parents and guardians up to date and share photos that are sent along to me.

Please make sure you have read over the relevant trip booklet and clearly understand pick up and drop off locations and times this week.

I hope you are enjoying a restful holiday. As you may know, the Lunar (or Chinese) New Year is a widely celebrated public holiday in Singapore. You will notice that many shops are closed or have shorter hours this weekend so that employees can celebrate with friends and family.

As you know we only have two days of school during the coming week. All school offices will be closed on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday teachers will be working on projects having to do with our school's accreditation self study. Students will return to school on Thursday.

As you know our students will be going on their Week Without Walls trips beginning next weekend. Please make sure you and your child have a good understanding of the trip itinerary, packing lists and our expectations. If you have any questions about Week Without Walls Trips, please don't hesitate to contact your child's homeroom teachers or check the WWW website (see link below).

February 8-10 -- No school for studentsFebruary 11 -- Lion Dance performed for Elementary and Middle School Students on the basketball court at 9:00am. Parents are welcome to join!February 15-19 -- Middle School Week Without Walls. All students and teachers are involved. There will be no scheduled classes during our Week Without Walls.March 9-10 -- Middle School Talent Show- Details to be shared soon!March 13 -- ISS PTA Fun Fair on the Paterson CampusMarch 18 -- Middle and High School Sports DayMarch 19- April 4 -- Spring Break Holiday

We had another exciting week of learning in the middle school and celebrated our Honor Roll and High Honor Roll recipients in assembly on Monday. We are very proud of the academic achievements of all of our students and would love to see all of our students on stage when we next give awards in June. Well done!

Parent Teacher Conferences:

If you were not able to make it to our first set of parent conferences last week, please join us on Tuesday from 15:00-18:00. Click on the link below to sign up for parent conferences.

It was wonderful to see so many new and returning faces on Monday. I hope you all had a wonderful and restful holiday with family and friends. Believe it or not, we are now entering the second half of the school year. After our first few weeks of settling in together in January, the calendar becomes crowded again with special events and celebrations of learning and community. Please check my blog frequently for updates.

Parent Conferences

As you know from previous communication, we have our second set of parent conferences coming up in the next two weeks. There are two different sessions spaced apart by one week to allow parents/guardians with challenging personal schedules to attend. Please try to attend to learn more about your child's progress over the course of the first semester.

Week Without Walls

There will be more updates coming on our Middle School Week Without Walls website (link). Please make sure you check in often for updates.

SOK SABAY DONATIONS 2016

A group of Middle school students will visit the Sok Sabay Children's Home during our Week Without Walls in February. The shelter is in need of the following donations which our students will take along with them on their way to Phnom Penh.

6th grade students learning about electricity through project based experiences

Our Winter Recess Approaches! As we begin to think about our approaching holiday, I'd like to remind all families about the importance of good attendance this week (and every week). It goes without saying that, in order to get the most out of your child's education at ISS they need to be in school each day, on time, ready to learn.

Occasionally, families ask to excuse their children from school for personal reasons. Though sometimes this is unavoidable, it's important for parents to understand that absences related to family holidays are marked as "unexcused" in our records. As stated in our Parent-Student Handbook, students must maintain a 90% attendance rate in order to remain in good standing at our school. Additionally, the Singapore Immigration Department requires the school to notify them of any student in Singapore on a Student Pass who fails to make 90% attendance in any month.

Submitting Excuses for Absent StudentsPlease remember that parents and guardians must submit an attendance excusal via the school website if a child will be absent for any reason. The MS Absent Form can be found under the "Quick Links" tab on our website. This is our school's official means for parents/ guardians to communicate absences to the office.

Communication from school this week

There will be a few very important ManageBac communications coming through to parents and guardians this week. Please look out for:

Information related to our January Parent Teacher Conferences

Final payment details for our Week Without Walls trips

A message announcing that reports have been uploaded to ManageBac on December 17th

Dates and Events: We have a busy and exciting week ahead of us.

December 15th- Grade 6 Medieval Exhibition in the Middle School Hall; 8:40-9:40am. Please see my November 27th blog post to learn more about this event. Parents are invited!

December 17th- All students participate in the Walk for Zero Hunger at East Coast Park. Please see my November 27th blog post to learn more about this event. Parents are invited!

December 17th- Semester 1 reports will be uploaded to students' and parents' ManageBac accounts.

December 18th- Last day of school for the first semester. This will be a full day of school for students.

Our Middle School Students traveled to far off places on virtual field trips this week

An Important Message from Dr. Margaret Alvarez:

Access passes for Paterson and Preston CampusesDear ISS Community,Earlier I wrote to let you know that we would be managing taxi entrance to our two campuses as part of our measures to enhance security. I am now writing to let you know of the next stage of our developments.

Paterson and Preston Campuses

Starting on Monday 7th December all parents, helpers and guardians arriving on foot or by car will need to collect a lanyard and identification card. Our staff will be on hand to issue the cards and lanyards. Please follow our staff members’ directions on arrival at the campus and please wear the lanyard at all times when on our campuses.

Photo booths will also be set up next week to take photographs that will be used for more permanent access cards. Please find attached the form that will need to be completed in order to obtain a long term card.Many thanks for your cooperation and support in keeping our community safe.